As we enter the Weekend, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and pray you are blessed.
Big Thought of the Week
“The excitement was in finding them, not keeping them.” – 232 Sand Dollars blog entry by Derek Sivers.
A couple take-aways here: Enjoy your world but let others enjoy it too. Furthermore, much of what we do is driven by the joy of discovery or the rush of experience… but if we lose sight of the joy in the journey, we can quickly try to find joy in the acquisition. This feeds an appetite that is NEVER sated.
Technologies, Tools, & Strategies
It’s the week prior to Christmas, I’m only sharing one.
- Treepad: http://www.treepad.com
I started using Treepad 5 or 6 years ago. It is an amazingTREE outline information management tool. After migrating to a new computer and NOT writing for a few years, I stopped using it. Recently, I rediscovered it..It allows you to create an outline of information, with article/written content in each tree. It is searchable, fast, and can export all the content into a menu driven complete website.. Less for design, more for rapid deployment of information.Another key feature is the ability to take a Treepad database (file) and using one of their many free add-on utilities, turn it into an E-Book executable. You can distribute this file with or without a password. Depending on the version (everything from FREE personal/lite to Enterprise multi-user), you are looking at $0 to a couple hundred dollars. I use Treepad Business $44. It’s a bargain.
Around the Web
I’m not using “Buffer” yet – a twitter/facebook social media publishing tool, but I started checking out their blog and ran across this blog entry. Ideas to paying customers in 7 weeks: how we did it. Similar to what I’ve read in Rework, they talk about getting 1 or 2 working pieces out there.. don’t wait until you have it “all together”. They say, “Keep version 1 minimal. No, more minimal than that.” – Great advice!
Friend and mentor, Coach Bill Hart shares about Optimization. Are your systems in place.. are they optimized. Bill may not realize but his prompting is partially responsible for my new book project.. so thanks.
I met Pam Slim in Phoenix at one of the first Social Media Club meetings. She is the author of what I consider the best titled blog and book ever! Escape From Cubicle Nation! And her material is good too. I could randomly pick almost anything she’s posted to feature but this is a great reminder of simplifying your presentations or products. Interesting equation.. take what you want to cover and “whack it in half” and then “whack it in half” again.
What I Am Doing
- I’ve had more than 100 consultants or aspiring consultants download my consulting proposal this week. If that was you, thank you. I hope you find it helpful. I’ve corresponded with a couple of you and will be coaching at least one of you in the new year. Continue to spread the word and let me know what you need.
- My daughter is visiting from Phoenix before she starts a rather epic journey. As such, I am coaching her on her blog and content. It is interesting coaching your adult daughter who has proven herself to be a doer. She doesn’t view herself that way, because, as I’ll write about next week, when you live in your head almost everything you experience is “average” – ie: we discount our own genius.
- Preparing content for the webinars. Next week I deliver two webinars. I’ve had a tremendous response so far – particularly for the week between Christmas and New Years.
Are you ready for 2012? Seriously.. are you taking it seriously! If not, if you want to accomplish more.. if you want to become a rockstar.. if you would rather move from wishing to being.. let’s talk!
